Stanford routs Yale 102-44, freshman Anna Wilson has double figures in debut
58-point victory is tied for the fifth largest margin in Stanford history.
? from @CardinalChannel.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/bJLUcLHwfD
— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) December 29, 2016
STANFORD, Calif. – After going 1-1 on an East Coast two-game road trip that included a loss at Tennessee, Stanford (10-2) rebounded at home with a drubbing of Yale, 102-44. The contest was the last non-conference game of the season before the Cardinal begins Pac-12 play.
“I thought we needed a really a good game for momentum going into the Pac-12 season and I thought we got it,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. “It was really fun to have everyone play. I think everybody scored, we took care of the ball. We came out very aggressively and we played that way the whole game.”
Led by Karlie Samuelson, the Cardinal raced out to an 8-0 lead in the first few minutes and led 24-6 after the first quarter. The rout of Yale (8-4) continued in the second quarter with Stanford outscoring the Bulldogs 26-12.
Eleven players saw action for the Cardinal. Heralded freshman guard Anna Wilson, the younger sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, made her season debut at 6:01 in the second quarter for the Cardinal.
Wilson looked comfortable on the floor, as if she had been playing all season, and came away with a steal and a layup within two minutes. She was out for the first part of the season recovering from a concussion she suffered during practice for last spring’s McDonald’s All-American Game. She finished with 11 points in 17 minutes of action.
She attended the postgame presser and fielded questions on her performance.
“It was really exciting,” she said about her first college game. “I’ve been waiting a little while to actually play and I hadn’t played in a long time so it was great. I have really great teammates and they supported me throughout the whole process. I’m just really grateful to be able to play again and just have fun.”
Samuelson led all scorers with 21 points. Senior forward Erica McCall contributed 19 points plus six rebounds. Junior guard Brittany McPhee added 15 points plus eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Alanna Smith pulled down 13 rebounds, a career high, to go with her seven points.
Freshman center Megan Gorman paced Yale with 21 points plus seven rebounds.
Stanford begins Pac-12 play Friday with a road game at Arizona State followed by a Sunday game at Arizona. Yale remains on the road this week with a game at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Notes:
- Stanford starting forward Kaylee Johnson remained out with a foot injury, but is day-to day.
- Freshman guard Mikaela Brewer was also sidelined with a sprain and is day-to-day.
- The last time Stanford scored at least 100 points was March 11, 2011 in a win vs. Arizona.
- The 58-point margin of victory tied for fifth most in program history.
- Samuelson passed Kate Starbird for 10th place (180) in three-pointers made in program history.
